It always seems impossible...

It always seems impossible until its done.

Nelson Mandela

I had a little outburst yesterday... And am not entirely sure where it came from... S called and made a snide comment in jest and totally set me off... I think the whole Renovation process on top of the pending wedding plans and the pending year-end performance review at work has gotten the better of me.

then S said to put things in perspective, " Hun, it's only gonna be 2 weeks before you'll have your kitchen and bathroom again and all these will be over!"

Magic! Why couldn't I see the end of that tunnel before? It's like he turned me around the bend of a maze and suddenly I can find my way again! What else are Partners for? And in two weeks, I will have my wedding dress too! So I am happy again and the Sun's come out again.

The souless house

Ok it's not that bad. I look at the houses on The Block and truly our place is not as devo next to it. However, our bathroom has been ripped out and yesterday they took out the bathroom floor too. There's this massive gaping hole in my house. On Thursday, it's the kitchen's turn. So the house will not have a kitchen or a bathroom. To me that is a souless house. Like a woman without breasts. It loses the defining characteristics we would usually look for in a property and loses it's ability to be a home to its residents.

Am I being too dramatic? I hope not to be. I know when I look back in the future when we have the beautiful bathroom and kitchen I will not remember how cold this winter was and how hard it was to have to hover in the outhouse in the cold nights. I will not remember cooking on a portable stove and making meals in a makeshift kitchen with rubble and boxes rife in the surroundings. I will not remember the helpless feelings I get from being told something else is wrong with our house that needs to be fixed otherwise in the long term we will spend more money maintaining it. And I will not remember the sleepless nights I had because even though I tell everyone I am not stressed or try to not let it affect me, I cannot feel at ease until I see it all fall into place.

So... I will go home tonight and revel in the new touches S's dad has out into the house whilst I was at work today. I will make my penultimate dinner on the Westinghouse stove and I will watch The block and thank the heavens above that my place at least does not smell like a dead rat or has nearly as much damp as those houses in the show. And when I say my prayers tonight I will remember to ask for a good night's rest and for acceptance and peace.

We shall turn this



Into this:

Wedding Car

So... We have booked this awhile back and I haven't been able to post pics cause it was on S's phone instead of mine... Grrr...

Anyways, Here it is and IMH I think it is beautiful! Can't wait to get into this with Daddy on the day!

Seeing my wedding dress and reception dress together!

Twas a big weekend this one that just passed. Both on the wedding and the preparation of our new home front.

Saturday was mainly dedicated to my two dresses. I went to pick up my wedding dress and reception dress! The Wedding dress was ordered to the size of my bum which means it is too big for the bust and waist area. Look at what it looks like laced up at the moment! Shame! But no worries... we’re getting that taken in so I can’t wait for another 4 weeks to go back and try it on again.

We also bought the groomsmen ties... I can’t believe we managed to find the exact colour material and they have been sent off to get business ties made! What were the chances?

Also... this has been the big moment that we had been waiting for...the reception dress post alterations! It sits so much better on my hips now and the tulle looks like it was part of the original dress!

On the Sunday, we dedicated it to painting the house and taking down the thorny bougainvillea bush in the front. My hands are a little worse of wear for that, but look at the difference we’ve made to the place so far! We are really looking forward to living in here... but the war zone has only just begun!

Private Dance Lessons

Hahaha..... this came across our laps today and babe and I are quite keen so we bought vouchers...
http://www.ourdeal.com.au/deal/arthur-murray-dance-school-private-group-social-dance-lessons/refer/377640

Here we come... sashaying away!!!!!!

Daddy's speech...

So Dad's asked me again and again to write his speech for him. This is the only thing he has been most excited about throughout all the plans... so I finally obliged last night... This is what I have for him:

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen

I am the Father of the bride tonight and on behalf of my wife and I, I would like to welcome you all here today to celebrate the marriage of our daughter Y to S.

I would like to thank S’s parents, T & M, his brother’s family, as well as all our relatives and friends, some of whom have travelled far to be here tonight.

Thank you all for coming, it’s very much appreciated.

This is the point where I am supposed to say a few embarrassing things about Y when she was younger but she wrote my speech so she did not put anything down for me to share with you tonight. What I will say is this, Y has made us very proud. All parents want their children to have a good education and give themselves a good start in life and Y has taken control of that from a very young age. I always tell people that it was really easy to raise my kids. I never had to worry about them and before you know it they are all grown up.

To S, Every Father hopes his daughter will find a reliable, sensible, and responsible partner and as much as you try not to interfere in their lives, you always hope your children will make the right choices in life. Y chose S.

I have found that S has grown on me over the years that they have been dating. I have seen this boy grow to become the man he is today and become worthy of my little girl. I hope that he closely matches my own values as a provider, a partner and a father because today I hand over responsibility for our daughter to him. However, I know Y has made an excellent choice, she has had 9 years to decide that and I welcome S to the Family.

29 years ago, I married my wife in this very same month and I have this advice to give Y and S. Keep your eyes wide open before the wedding, half shut afterwards.

Now for a toast, it is written: “when children find true love, parents find true joy”. Here's to your joy and ours, from this day forward.

Dress arrived!!!

OMG I casually called the shop today to enquire about my dress and it is here! Fantabulous! I can't wait to go pick it up and try it on again! how can I survive till Sat?

Our new home

So the new doors got delivered yesterday and we are choosing the paint for the outside of the house. I've lived there a full week by now.

It's starting to glow a little... mainly because my future father in law has been painting the hallway white. a little bit each day. When I come home, I always go around the place to see what has been done. I feel terrible that we are not helping out though and I wish we could do more and be more responsible about it.

But my fiance is not a handyman. I have to live with that. I cannot expect him to be who he isn't. My brother is selfish and spoiled and so I cannot rely on him either. I will have to help FFIL if I really want things to be done.

Anyways, I have fully unpacked my own room by now and I can see where things sort of belong. I am also liking the closer distance between the new place and the city than my old place. Which I certainly would not admit to anyone else, cause I was such an advocate of the trains and my previous suburb before, and also because, I didn't (at one point in time) see the point of hauling my life out of my little apartment which I took so much pains to make my home.

Now it is our home... not just mine. I have to be less liberal with the peonies decals and the blingy decorations. He's allowed me flowers and paintings... but I will steer away from the Ballerinas and princesses too I think. I bought the day bed without consulting him though and whilst I love it... it's got two massive love hearts wrought into the iron and I am not sure what he thinks of it yet... I guess we'll find out soon enough :P

New month new beginnings

We've moved! And we've got a joint account now! Things are so different for me; starting to think like this is really happening! We are a couple! Mind you there were fights and tears and lots of short tantrums from my end. But in the time of winter when people are sluggish and falling sick, we’ve been blessed enough to have so much to keep us busy and motivated. We have also discussed and decided to use my wedding dowry to renovate the house. Which means I don’t have to slum it out! Yippeee!!!!

New Bathroom and a kitchen that I will design myself, new doors, new floors and a new coat of paint inside and outside and that is all my moolah gone but one handsome place to live in after we’re married! How exciting! I wonder if people usually do put all their savings into the marriage plans what with the reception, the honeymoon, the new home... we are cash poor now...but so rich in blessings.

I can’t wait till July when all the major renos should be finished and then I can just unpack things from their boxes and really start making the place feel like a home.